Creditors flooded with offers for Nakheel sukuk: NBC CEO

Says sukuk yielding 8% on average

Nakheel trade creditors may be unwilling to sell the planned sukuk at a discount in the secondary market as they are being flooded with offers, industry sources claim.

Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer, National Bonds Corporation, confirmed to Emirates 24/7 that they were in talks with a trade creditor to buy the planned sukuk, but haven’t been able to close the deal due to the “many offers” that the creditors is supposedly evaluating.

“We were talking to a trade creditor, who was willing to offer us 25 per cent discount. But the deal hasn’t been closed until now as he says ‘he has got many offers’,” Al Ali said while refusing to divulge further details of their proposal.

“For us, on an average, the yield on sukuk has been 8 per cent. We always look at buying sukuk and this Nakheel issue is a good one.”

On Tuesday, Nakheel said it will complete its debt restructuring process “soon” and has achieved the threshold of trade creditors eligible for receiving the sukuk.

The company has already secured more than 98 per cent approval for its $10.9 billion debt restructuring plan. Under the proposal, trade creditors would receive repayment through 40 per cent cash and 60 per cent in the form of a $1.63 billion Islamic bond, expected by the end of the first half.